OB/GYN News Archives - Page 5 of 26

Postpartum Depression Causes, Risk Factors, and Prevention Strategies

by OB/GYN | Oct 22, 2021 | OB/GYN News, Postpartum Depression, Women's Health

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Topic: Postpartum Depression Causes, Risk Factors, and Prevention Strategies

While postpartum depression could strike anyone, there are some factors that increase your risk. Learn more about what causes postpartum depression and how to prevent it.

After giving birth, about 80 percent of new mothers experience sadness and mood swings known as the “baby blues.” These symptoms usually last days or weeks after birth—but occasionally they develop into more severe postpartum depression (PPD).

Postpartum depression affects one in nine new mothers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and symptoms can appear up to one year after giving birth. Signs of PPD include persistent sadness or emptiness, hopelessness, guilt, insomnia, weight loss, decreased energy, difficulty concentrating, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities, and more. Doctors normally treat PPD with antidepressant medication, counseling, or both.

Anyone can develop postpartum depression, but certain factors may increase your risk. Here’s everything you need to know about the causes and risk factors of postpartum depression.

What Causes Postpartum Depression?

Doctors have traditionally blamed postpartum depression on the dramatic drop in hormones (estrogen and progesterone) that occurs after giving birth. These hormonal changes alter the chemical balance in your brain. However, hormones can’t explain everything; otherwise, all new mothers would plummet into depression.

According to the latest research, women who suffer from PPD show clear warning signs during pregnancy; many have risk factors, such as a history of depression. PPD may also be associated with sleep deprivation, feelings of loneliness associated with new motherhood, the physical changes of pregnancy, breastfeeding difficulties, and more.

Always tell your doctor if you experience symptoms of PPD, or if you think you’re at risk for developing it. “Doctors can detect the most vulnerable women early and prevent illness before it strikes,” says lead researcher Zachary Stowe, M.D., director of the Pregnancy and Postpartum Mood Disorders Program at Emory University in Atlanta.

Risk Factors for Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression can happen to anyone, whether it’s your first child or fifth. But factors that may raise your risk include:

History of depression or bipolar disorder: Women who have previously had clinical depression are much more likely to develop PPD. Keep in mind that you may not have necessarily been aware of, or treated for, past episodes of depression. It’s important to look at your life carefully—your adolescence, your young adulthood, previous postpartum experiences—and assess whether you have had any significant episodes of anxiety or depression that have hindered your ability to function.

Severe PMS: Because postpartum depression seems partly triggered by hormonal changes after childbirth (and possibly after weaning), many experts believe that previous hormonal sensitivity raises a red flag. PPD risk may increase in women with a history of severe PMS, or in women who experienced negative mood changes while taking birth control pills.

Topic Discussed: Postpartum Depression Causes, Risk Factors, and Prevention Strategies

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What is vaginal atrophy? The condition that affects more than half of postmenopausal people.

by OB/GYN | Oct 20, 2021 | OB/GYN News

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Topic: What is vaginal atrophy? The condition that affects more than half of postmenopausal people.

Vaginal atrophy is a condition in which the lining of the vagina becomes thinner and drier. It is common during times of hormonal change, like menopause. In fact, vaginal atrophy affects more than half of menopausal people.

While the condition can result in itching, burning, and painful intercourse, there are ways to treat and manage its related symptoms.

The most common symptoms of vaginal atrophy are vaginal dryness, and pain during intercourse, says Christine Greves, MD, an OB-GYN with the Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.

Other symptoms of vaginal atrophy include:

Itching
Vaginal burning during urination
Decreased lubrication during sex
Light bleeding after intercourse
Frequent urination
Urinary incontinence

Vaginal atrophy can also increase your risk of vaginal and urinary tract infections and sometimes cause bleeding, Greves says. This is because thinner and drier vaginal tissue is more prone to tearing.

What causes vaginal atrophy?

Vaginal atrophy is caused by a reduction in the hormone estrogen, says Huong Nghiem-Eilbeck, MD, an OB-GYN with AltaMed Health Services. Estrogen helps maintain the vagina’s elasticity, thickness, lubrication, and pH balance.

This explains why menopause is the leading cause of vaginal atrophy, since during this period you produce less estrogen, Nghiem-Eibrek says.

However, a drop in estrogen that can lead to vaginal atrophy may also be due to:

Removal of both ovaries (oophorectomy), since estrogen is primarily produced in the ovaries.
Breast cancer treatment, which may include anti-estrogen medications.
Childbirth, which results in a drop in estrogen. In fact, a 2018 study of postpartum women found 43% reported vaginal dryness six months after giving birth.
Breastfeeding, which also reduces estrogen levels. This is because the hormone prolactin that causes lactation can also reduce estrogen levels.

Other risk factors for vaginal atrophy include:

Smoking, which reduces blood circulation to the vagina.
Lack of sexual activity, since staying sexually active increases blood flow to the genitals and maintains elastic vaginal tissues.
No vaginal births. People who have never given birth vaginally are more likely to develop vaginal atrophy than those who have had vaginal deliveries.

Topic Discussed: What is vaginal atrophy? The condition that affects more than half of postmenopausal people.

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How AI Is Helping To Make Breast Cancer History

by OB/GYN | Oct 19, 2021 | OB/GYN News

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Topic: How AI Is Helping To Make Breast Cancer History

Every October for the last four decades, Breast Cancer Awareness Month has helped to raise visibility of the most prevalent cancer on Earth — one that takes almost three-quarters of a million lives every year.

Despite recorded cases stretching back to ancient Egypt, breast cancer was considered an “unspeakable” condition for millennia. Women were expected to suffer in silence and “dignity.”

This stigma fueled academic ignorance, with breast cancer languishing as a relatively unstudied disease until just a few decades ago. For most of the last century, a woman suffering from breast cancer would be offered radiation therapy and/or surgery — often radical surgery, leaving them disfigured for little benefit — while the treatment of other cancers progressed.

Breast cancer mortality barely changed from the 1930s to the 1970s, until a concerted effort by feminist and women’s liberation groups elevated the study and treatment of breast cancer to its rightful position in heavily male-dominated hospitals and research institutions. Treatment transformed in a generation.

In the 1970s, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer had roughly a 40% chance of surviving the next 10 years. Today, that probability has almost doubled, thanks to new drugs, cutting-edge screening methods, and more subtle and effective surgery.

Crucial to this transformation has been an emphasis on early diagnosis. The earlier breast cancer is spotted, the easier it is to treat. Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly critical role in identifying breast cancer. This year, Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) announced a study of how AI could screen for breast cancer. While intended to augment, not replace, human doctors, this would help to mitigate a shortage of radiographers — 2,000 more are needed to clear the NHS’ backlog in scans caused by the pandemic.

Startups are also using AI to tackle this shortage. Britain’s Kheiron Medical Technologies plans to use AI to screen half a million women for breast cancer. Spain’s the Blue Box is developing a device that can detect breast cancer from urine samples. India’s Niramai is working on a low-cost tool that could help screen large numbers of women in rural and semi-urban areas.

But equally crucial to improving outcomes is identifying patients at high risk of relapsing. Around one in 10 breast cancer patients will relapse after their initial treatment, decreasing their chance of survival.

Identifying them early has historically been difficult, but my team, working with Gustave Roussy, a French cancer hospital, has developed an AI tool that can spot 8 in 10 patients at high risk of relapsing. AI helps to get patients the treatment they need earlier on while also sparing lower-risk patients from frequent, unsettling checkups. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies accelerate breast cancer drug trials by recruiting high-risk patients faster.

Patient data privacy can be an understandable roadblock to rapid research. Hospitals are cautious about sending data off-site, and no pharmaceutical company wants to share valuable data with competitors. But AI is helping to solve these issues, allowing for the quicker, safer and cheaper development of new treatments.

Federated learning, a novel form of AI that trains on data from multiple institutions without the data leaving the hospitals, is being used across Europe to give researchers access to essential, yet previously inaccessible, data.

We will also use AI to deepen our understanding of why the most aggressive forms of breast cancer are resistant to certain drugs, helping us to develop new, tailored drugs that discriminate between healthy and tumor cells better than chemotherapy.

While AI’s influence is increasing, equally important to improving outcomes is a recognition that healthcare is a fundamentally human endeavor. No algorithm could ever comfort a patient in their darkest moments, and no machine could ever instill and inspire the resilience that every patient needs in order to beat their disease.

Topic Discussed: How AI Is Helping To Make Breast Cancer History

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Rapid Tests of The Vagina’s Microbiome Could Help Us Monitor Pregnancy Risks

by OB/GYN | Oct 18, 2021 | OB/GYN News

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Topic: Rapid Tests of The Vagina’s Microbiome Could Help Us Monitor Pregnancy Risks

Scientists have figured out a quick, easy and cheap way to monitor the community of microbes living within the human vagina.

With a simple swab, the test can provide a metabolic profile in less than three minutes, beating current technology by up to eight hours. What’s more, the new analysis can also identify inflammatory markers from the host themselves, which can indicate whether there is a bacterial infection at play or not.

For those who are pregnant, such information could be life-saving.

During pregnancy, if a vaginal infection ascends up into the cervix, it can increase the risk of pregnancy loss and pre-term birth. In fact, infection-related pre-term birth is a leading cause of death for children the world over.

“This is the first rapid testing device of its kind and could be readily transferred to use in a clinical setting,” says David MacIntyre, a researcher specializing in reproductive medicine from Imperial College London.

“This information could be used by doctors and patients to monitor risk of pre-term birth but also to help optimize treatments, such as more selective use of antibiotics.”

The researchers plan to seek regulatory approval for the test, though we are limited in what we can predict from the results until we know more about the markers of pre-term pregnancy.

And the vaginal microbiome itself is still a mystery, possibly even more so than the gut microbiome, which is saying quite a lot given how little we know about the latter.

Unlike the gut, which thrives on diversity, recent research suggests that a lack of diversity in the vaginal microbiome is actually better.

When a microbe known as Lactobacillus crispatus dominates during pregnancy, it seems to be a hallmark of health, protecting against an immune response and, in turn, pre-term birth.

But when some microbes grow out of control, known as bacterial vaginosis, L. crispatus is depleted. This type of microbial imbalance can increase the risk of miscarriage, pre-term birth, and even HPV infection, which means a reduction in L. crispatus could allow doctors to identify better which pregnant patients are most at risk of complications.

Unfortunately, while the new test was able to detect the microbial composition and immune states of 365 people throughout their pregnancies, it was a poor predictor of who would ultimately go on to give birth prematurely. The analysis could only point out risk factors that doctors can keep their eyes on.

Topic Discussed: Rapid Tests of The Vagina’s Microbiome Could Help Us Monitor Pregnancy Risks

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Eating Peanut Butter During Pregnancy: Is it Safe?

by OB/GYN | Oct 14, 2021 | OB/GYN News

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Topic: Eating Peanut Butter During Pregnancy: Is it Safe?

There has been some concern about what pregnant mothers should or should not eat, including peanut butter. Pregnancy is a time where taste changes in a myriad of ways, and things that did not use to sound good may suddenly become a craving. Here, we will examine the common question that many expectant mothers wish to know: “Is it safe for me to eat peanut butter during my pregnancy?”

The Surprising Health Benefits of Peanut Butter

It can be difficult for expectant mothers to keep up with the dos and don’ts while coping with cravings during their pregnancy. While taste does change quite a bit, it is still important to indulge in a diet that is well-balanced. Luckily, it is safe for pregnant women to consume peanut butter, and it even has some surprising health benefits.

While everyone has different cravings, one key study involving 2,022 expectant mothers noted that peanut butter was a common craving. The reason for this particular craving may be physical or hormonal changes taking place in the body. However, it is safe, and even healthy, for pregnant women to consume peanut butter.

Peanut butter has many nutrients the body needs to function, including a large amount of healthy, unsaturated fats. It also contains protein and fiber. Although peanut butter has many calories, it is also relatively low in carbs. If you have gestational diabetes, you may need to carefully measure your carb intake, which makes peanut butter a prime choice.

Furthermore, peanut butter has plant-based protein and a low glycemic index. Protein is especially needed for the growth and development that accompanies pregnancies, making peanut butter a good (and satisfying) option. In addition, peanut butter contains large amounts of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, which have also been linked to a reduction in the risk of developing heart disease. For these reasons, peanut butter remains a safe and healthy choice for pregnant women, as long as they do not have a peanut allergy.

Key Takeaway

One of the most stressful things an expectant mother must figure out is what the dos and don’ts are of her new diet. Many cravings arise, and it is important to eat a well-balanced diet so that the baby has everything they need. While some women have wondered if peanut butter is a safe option for pregnant women, it has not only proven safe, but healthy, for pregnant women who do not have any peanut allergies.

Topic Discussed: Eating Peanut Butter During Pregnancy: Is it Safe?

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STD Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

by OB/GYN | Oct 12, 2021 | OB/GYN News

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Topic: STD Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

Rates of sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea and chlamydia have more than doubled in older adults. Here’s how to protect yourself.

After a certain age, it’s easy to dismiss sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as something you don’t have to worry about. But experts note that anyone, at any age, can contract such an infection, and rates of STDs among adults age 65 and older have more than doubled over the past decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That’s partly because older adults are living longer and enjoying active sex lives, thanks to medications for erectile dysfunction and vaginal dryness. They are also less likely than people in many other age groups to use a condom, in part because they aren’t concerned about pregnancies.

“Older Americans get lulled into a false sense of low risk,” says Sten Vermund, M.D., dean of the Yale School of Public Health and coauthor of a 2021 report on STDs for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. “They think, I’m a grandfather or grandmother – how can I be at risk of a sexually transmitted infection?” But if you are having sex with a new partner or outside of a monogamous relationship, you are at risk, he says.

Monica Christmas, M.D., director of the Center for Women’s Integrated Health at the University of Chicago, says her older patients are often shocked when they are diagnosed with an STD.

“They say, ‘But this is the only person that I’m seeing,’ “ she says. “They make assumptions that they are the only person their partner is with, but they’re not having those conversations. We are really impressing on them that condom use is so important, even though you can’t get pregnant.”

Many STDs carry health risks without early signs

Another problem: Health care providers tend not to ask their older patients about their sex lives, so they don’t always get screened for STDs, says Michigan geriatrician Gwendolyn Graddy, M.D.

“Often, as physicians, we don’t equate our older adults with being sexually active, and we may not be looking for the signs and symptoms of STDs, because it’s not first thing on our minds,” Graddy explains.

Many people infected with STDs don’t have immediate or obvious symptoms, or they have symptoms that can be easily mistaken for another health condition.

Unfortunately, that means a disease can go untreated for years, leading to long-term health issues, such as HIV, increased cancer risk, and cardiovascular and neurological problems. You can also end up unknowingly sharing the infection with an unsuspecting partner.

That’s why doctors recommend that if you enter a new relationship, you get tested for sexually transmitted infections and ask your partner to do the same — whether or not you or your partner has symptoms.

Topic Discussed: STD Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

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Next Entries »

Postpartum Depression Causes, Risk Factors, and Prevention Strategies

What is vaginal atrophy? The condition that affects more than half of postmenopausal people.

How AI Is Helping To Make Breast Cancer History

Rapid Tests of The Vagina’s Microbiome Could Help Us Monitor Pregnancy Risks

Eating Peanut Butter During Pregnancy: Is it Safe?

STD Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

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